The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-12-17
THE OLD KICKER.
Peck's Sun.

weak. "I did not tell you all, when l mentioned that 1 had given my note for guaranteed mining stock. That was only drop in the bucket. l have not only invested all the money l had in iron.stoeks, but have sold mort gages which 1 held, and bought stocks with the money"
 "Well, you are a bigger d-d fool than any of us gave you credit fol" said the grocery drummer, who always speaks what he thinks. "You always claimed to be smarter than anybody. What has been the matterS Have they played iron stock three card monte on your"
 "That is just it," said the kicker, in husky voice, as he pulled warm scarf up around his neck, after cough ing little. "There never has been a worse case of confidence game than has been played on me. Not only my own money is gone, but my wife was induced to sell some property that she owned in her own right, and she invested it in mining stock. She is under doctors care, and it is an even thing whether she becomes in- sane or not. Besides, had money in my hands as administrator of an es- tate. This money belonged to a widow and some orphans. 1 thought it was my duty to make all the money could for them, so 1 bought mining stock at two dollars share, on the understanding that it would be worth from eight to ten dollars a share be- fore the year was up. l was told so by man in whom l had confidence. If the stock had gone up could have made the widow and orphans rich. It is not worth cent, the widow and orphans are poverty stricken, and the chances are that shall go to the pen itentiary for embezzlement. But l shall not go alone!''
 "Who do you think of taking with you?" asked the insurance man. 'Is it going to be free for-all?"
 of there is justice in this state," said the old kicker, "I shall take some of the men who got me into this scrape. They have lied to me, per iured themselves, and obtained my money under false pretences. Why, they had maps, and pictures of mines, buildings, railroads, cars loaded with ore, steamships, iron mills, rything. 1 bought stock in one mine tor the estate 1 was administrator of, which l was told had the finest machinery ever put in mine, and there was rail- road track, tramways and everything, and ore was loaded right on tho cars from the mine, and before the ore was cold it was in the hold of steamship, on the way to market, and the money for the ore on the way back before 1 could say Jack Robinson. couldn't get stock enough in that mine. l wanted trunk full of it. After in- vesting all could raise pawned my watch and diamonds and bought more stock, and traded my horses for more. We'll, since l saw you last week, have been up to the 'mine.' What do you think found?"
 "Oh, you found the machinery, and the railroad, and millions of tons of ore," said the drummer. "But they told you the ore was not saleable. The market was overstocked, wasn't it?"
 "Overstocked nothing" said the old kicker, with indignation. "There was hole in the ground, and Norwe- gian was hauling up a bucket with windlass, and there was an Italian down in the hole, filling the bucket with mud"
 "Wasn't there hundred tons of ore on the dump?" asked the floor walker, who had invested in some mining stock, and had it now. "And weren't they running drifts each way to strike the main body of ore? That's what I heard when I bought my stock"
 "Naw," said the old kicker. "There was chunk of ore about as big as a mans head, that had been brought from another mine as specimen, and the Norwegian had some soft hema- tite, or some such sculch, on his boots, which he got on several months ago, while working in mine. But around the alleged mine that 1 had stock in there was nothing but mud. It was several miles from a railroad, and the whole outfit, including the windlass, and the bucket, the Norwegian, the Italian and myself, could have been bought for five dollars. When I look at my beautiful stock in that mine, and the pictures of the machinery, buildings, smoke stack, railroads, and then think of that hole in the mud, and the dirty Norwegian, the "fore- man." who wouldn't know ore unless somebody told him what it was, and think of the widow and orphans that have got to go to the poorhouse, and myself, that will probably go to Waupun, and of the men that sold me that stock and took good money, I am not responsible for what I do, and pledge you my word, if I live long